The Priest's Promise
by an Oldman obsession
Summary: This is a one-shot. A take on Father Solomon's little story about his wife. Explains why he hunts werewolves. *REWRITTEN* One shot. Rated T.


_((__**A/N**__:: This is the RE-imagining of the story of what might have happened according to Father Solomon's own short account of the tale of his wife's demise. I do not own anything Red Riding Hood related and am not making money for this. R&R please? Thanks!))_

**I- Night**

The moon was full and bright and hung in the sky. But it wasn't the only thing out tonight. There was also "it".

_The Beast._

A huge beast that walked on all fours as a wolf. But this was no _mere_ wolf You wouldn't be able to discern this distinction until the last moment before it sank two inch razor fangs into your throat completely tearing your head off or until you realize that suddenly you were lying on the ground as it tore at your middle, spilling your guts on the ground and commencing to eat you. Alive.

Once a month, it prowled the darkness looking for victims. It wouldn't be choosy. It would take animal or human. It was all the thrill of the hunt and the kill. This was what differed it from the common wolf. Normal wolves didn't hunt for sport. Definitely didn't attack humans. The closest it would get was the occasional stock animal if the snow had made it impossible to find any game.

All of this was known to the young lady that now was making her way across the clearing to get back into her home before her parents noticed that she had slipped out to meet a boy. Barely 16, she was known in her village to be sweet and kind. Never a harsh word to any. Long red hair falling over tender shoulders, large green eyes, tiny pert nose with a splash of freckles across the bridge. Wrapped in a dark brown cloak, clutched tightly around her shivering form as the first snowfall of the season had dusted the ground during the time she had spent with the boy. Now she was sorry that she hadn't dressed more for the chill.

As she rushed across the last clearing before the house, she heard a *pop* of a branch breaking. Freezing in her spot, she looked around, breath fogging as it escaped from between her lips. "Daniel?" There was no sound of an answer, so she attributed it to some careless animal.

The animal indeed had been careless. In its lust for blood, it hadn't been watching its steps and when the branch cracked and the girl stopped, it stopped as well, barely breathing. Then she once more began walking. The beast followed along beside her, hidden by the rough foliage. He could smell the other humans and knew that his time was short as she would soon be safe close to the others. Damn! He dashed ahead of her, stopping, but still hidden and uttered a low rumbled snarl.

The girl stopped and stared ahead. She was sure the sound came from directly in front of her. Tightening the cloak yet more, she narrowed her eyes as if to help focus on the shadows. "Daniel, if this is you, it's not funny! Now…come out and show yourself!"

With a malevolent snarling grin, the hell beast did just that. It stepped from the brush and stood in front of her, head lowered as he took in the delicious sudden scent of fear she was flooded with. He was a good 7 meters from her, but still she could see, though scrawny and matted, a magnificent animal. Also out to kill her.

"You will not escape. The villagers will hunt you. You _will_ die." She said with a valiant – yet shaky - tone of defiance.

The beast's ears pricked forward and for a moment the snarling ceased as jaws closed, a rather quizzical look crossing its face.

The girl studied the animal for a moment, hoping that it understood. "Be off with you if you want to live!" She commanded.

The beast seemed to pay some heed to the girl's words as its tail dropped and it took a step to the side. Then suddenly in a heartbeat the ferocity was back and as if it had all been a game, he leapt the distance and before she could get any sound out at all, it had ripped her throat out and stood over her, the chunk of flesh in its jaws. It lifted its head to the sky, swallowing the meat in one large gulp, jaws parting as blood and drool dripped from them onto her as she was splayed in the snow under him, a low guttural howl escaped the beast, echoing in the valley and across the mountains.

The villagers all huddled in their homes near the fires, thankful that they were all together and that the beast was locked safely out.

Priscilla's parents breathed a sigh of relief knowing that even though they had argued with their red-haired daughter earlier that evening about her going to see Daniel on a Blood Moon night, she was safely in bed in the loft.

And the beast finished his feast before disappearing into the darkness before the sun would break the dawn and bring to light the horror of another night ruled by something so vile and despicable that would take innocent lives in a frenzy of blood lust.

**II - Loss**

It had been terrorizing a small town near to where he lived and he had sworn to protect his family since once the wolf ran out of something to hunt or merely got bored, it would head for the next town and that would be Solomon's. He had 2 daughters, aged 10 and 8. They were his heart. His very meaning to live. If anything were to happen to them he wouldn't go on.

And his wife.

Penelope.

She had been a daughter of a small family of only three. Mother, father and her.

It wasn't complicated to fall in love with her. She was the most beautiful woman. Maybe not on the outside – to which she was rather plain – but on the inside she was most glorious. On the physical side, she was a mere four inches shy of his height, maybe 49 kg in weight. Long auburn hair pulled neatly back in a braid that fell down her back and the largest blue eyes he had ever seen. It was as if looking into two pools of endless water. And the lashes that covered those eyes. One moment she could be flirty, shy and the next she was a demon and playful. On her inner beauty, she was a caring, loving woman who loved life and those around her. She gave herself to helping others and frequently went above and beyond if one of the townsfolk were ailing or needed some help. He hadn't realized exactly what it was about her but then isn't that what makes love so mysterious?

They married and the next year she had given birth to their first daughter, Isabel. A strong young girl. Smart and brave. Then two years later came along Ruth. She had been smaller at birth than her sister and for the first few months of her life, they would dote and worry over her. Then after her first birthday, the girl began to grow and learn.

He loved his daughters more than a man could. They were his life. His legacy.

But now, his worst fears would be realized. They had found the first victim the next morning. A young man mangeld, parts of him gone. Presumably eaten by the wolf. But the worst of all their nightmares was now real.

The beast was in their own town.

This went on for months.

Four to be exact.

Every full moon night was filled with terror and the howl of the beast

This night, though, the small group of friends had decided, with some liquid courage in the form of the drink, that THEY would be the ones to rid the village of the wolf. It was their duty! They had families to protect and friends that were not safe as long as this beast roamed their town. They would -not- let some devious animal claim this as his territory!

As they joked and laughed about what was to become of the pelt of the wolf once they had killed it and skinned it, they drank even more. One suggestion was to hang it as a flag as a warning to other werewolves to stay away. Another offered to give it to the poorest family for a blanket since winter was coming. The last was simply to hang it on the gates at the front of town in triumph and re-name the village to…Wolfdoom. Wolfkill. Deadwolf.

And the laughter roared once more.

When the rest of the tavern had abandoned the room to head for their homes. The four men gathered their wits – or what they could find – and headed out. Barely able to walk a straight line, but they were determined to be the heroes in this little tale. They left the tavern and armed with two swords, an axe, some rope and a torch, they went to the darkest side of the village. This was where the noises had been heard most frequently.

They had no clue what they were about to encounter.

Solomon offered to take point with his axe at the ready, as Kestler brought up the rear with the torch, Jayce was to the right with his sword and his older brother, Jonns, was to the left with his sword. They weren't very quiet. Well…not as quiet as Solomon would have wanted, but then one of the others would say something and the rest would chuckle and soon they were all laughing at whatever joke.

They had passed the feed barn and heard the *crunch* of steps echoing theirs, and they all stopped. A look between them, and they headed for the barn slowly.

"Come out, beast of Hell!" Solomon shouted into the darkness.

"No! It's a _foul_ beast, Solomon. Use that. Might work," Jayce said with a nod.

"Maybe _foul demon_ of hell?" Kestler offered and they all began giggling like girls at the sheer insanity that they were actually _doing_ this to begin with.

Suddenly there was a mind-exploding roar and a huge furry shape shoved past Solomon and was heading past the men when Jayce screamed and slammed his sword down towards it as it passed. He missed it, but that didn't seem to matter. The wolf, infuriated that someone had actually _tried_ to attack it, spun on its paws and leapt at the man. As the three watched in horror, the wolf drove its head towards Jayce's middle and as the man shrieked to the highest of Heavens, the wolf lifted the man off of the ground and slung him side to side as if he were one of the chew toys that the village mutts had found.

Jonns cried out, running at the beast, but instead of attacking, he grabbed his brother by the arms and heaved backwards, trying to free him of the monster's grasp. Unfortunately this only made the wolf madder and ground down harder on his captive, causing Jayce to scream even louder.

Solomon snarled and leapt into the fray, wielding his axe and swinging at the wolf wildly. Jonns pulled harder, digging his heels into the dirt and felt a give, then suddenly he went rolling backwards with Jayce in tow. At least half of him. Pulling so hard and the wolf's sharp teeth had cut the man in half.

The wolf now turned its attention to Solomon and started to leap at him, but a shaft of sunlight lit the roofs of the buildings and the wolf gave a whine and turned, disappearing over the wall and into the forest.

Solomon and Kestler turned to see Jonns cradling the upper half of Jayce's body as the lower half lay 20 yards away where the wolf had left it.

"Tonight." Solomon said, now completely sober as were the rest of them. "We will catch this beast and kill it. For Jayce."

**III- Hunt**

The beast had decided to show later than it had been, but the men were waiting for it this time.

The next afternoon, they had contracted the smithy to construct them a sword and dagger made of pure silver which they would have the bishop bless. They gathered a pouch of holy water, and another sword, Solomon gathered his axe once more and this time Kestler took up a bow and arrows.

That night, they'd gotten lucky and were able to corner the beast in a covered alleyway where it couldn't jump out and the only way to escape was through Solomon and his friends. There was only the three of them since no one was stupid enough to go after the thing sober, but that didn't sway the friends. The wolf snarled at the slowly advancing priest, lowering onto its haunches as the human drew closer and when the man was a mere 5 feet away, the animal leapt, jaws wide open, saliva literally running from its jaws, and fangs bared.

Solomon had to pause at the moment for the sheer power and beauty of the beast and the tremendous amount of courage as it was to fight to the last of its death, and as the wolf sailed through the air, closer to him, he raised his axe at the animal as it was coming down. The wolf raised a right forepaw to slash at the priest with sharp claws as the left paw struck at the axe to block it, but the animal's timing was off by just a hair and Solomon brought the weapon across in a slice.

The wolf shrieked as its left paw fell to the ground, forgetting about trying to kill the man now, it leapt once more over the heads of the gang as Kestler tried to hurriedly shoot arrows into it, arrows zipping wildly off in every direction, lodging in the side of the buildings, the fence, a cart. Everything but the wolf itself, and as the animal hit the ground on the other side of them, it raced along, but even on three paws it disappeared into the waning night.

The two men took off after the creature, yelling and howling like wild dogs after a fox, which left Solomon alone in the alley, trying to catch his breath and calm his pounding heart. Leaning against one of the buildings for support, panting heavily, he looked at the blood on his sword and then down at the paw. And suddenly the breath left him and he felt as if someone had rammed a fist into his solar plexus.

"No…" he mumbled softly. "Please….God tell me no."

He staggered over to where the paw had been, dropping to his knees in the snow and fighting back the tears, trying to control his rage and emotions, he heard the guards coming back, so he opened the black cloak he wore and ripped a piece of his shirt off, gingerly wrapping the remains of the beast in it and hiding it under his cloak.

The others rushed back to him, each gently taking his arms and helping him to his feet. "Solomon! Aye, Solomon! Are you hurt?" _There was "the Rule". If one is bitten by the creature during a Blood Moon, there was no hope for someone bitten by a werewolf. They must be put to death as they will surely become a follower of the Beast. If it were not the Blood Moon, the human would simply die of the bite._

He shook his head quickly, waving off their help as soon as he was on his feet. "No. No I'm f-fine. I must go home. I'm…" but he never finished the sentence. He backed away from the group of men and hurriedly went home.

**IV- Truth**

As he burst into his home, he didn't see her and he rushed up the ladder to the loft. A check of the girls…both sound asleep, not knowing. He gently pulled the blankets up over them both and tenderly kissed each before turning and heading back outside. Standing at the front door, he heard her coming and a frown as he watched her heading across the square towards the house carrying a bucket in one hand but her other was hidden carefully under her cloak.

"Solomon! Where have you been, my love? I haven't begun breakfast."

"Where have you been, Penelope?" he demanded.

She stopped just short of the walkway to the steps and looked up at him quizzically. "I went to get water for breakfast, silly. Now let me past. The girls will be up soon." She said as she tried to go by him.

Solomon shifted his weight to the other foot to keep her from getting by, still glowering down at her, grabbing the bucket and looking into it. Water. Cold glare shifted to her face as he threw the bucket down. "Let me see." His voice deadly quiet as he held out a hand to her.

She jumped when he threw the bucket and when he demanded to see, she tightened her cloak about herself and backed up a step. "You've gone insane…." She mumbled softly, eyes growing wide with fright. "Either that or drunk with the ale you and your…_friends_ have been doing nothing but consuming for days! Those…those men you call friends….they've gotten to you!"

He took a step down from the top step and then the next towards her. "If you 'don't ' show me….I will find it myself and then…."

Penelope shook her head slightly. "No…you're mad." Those wonderful blue eyes that he had fallen in love with now looked accusingly at him as they narrowed.

"Penelope, darling. You know it's for the best." He took another step towards her and reached out a bit more as his voice softened to that tone what he knew she trusted most. "Let me see, hm?"

Penelope almost gave in this time. But then fear took over and she spun on her heel and ran for the barn, slamming the door shut behind her as she then ran across and made for the ladder to the loft.

Solomon snarled, "Get BACK here!" Taking off close behind her, but when she slammed the door, he was caught just that much behind her and slammed into it. Another growl and he threw open the door, running in great strides across the barn, his fingers closing around her ankle as she was already halfway up the ladder. "COME….DOWN! Now!" he snapped at her, jerking hard on her leg.

She screamed when she felt his hand grab her, making her lose her grip and falling from the ladder, landing on the haystack underneath it, kicking wildly at him to try and break free.

Solomon held fast to her ankle, and as she swung a fist at him, he grabbed her wrist, letting her ankle go and yanked her roughly closer, then dropped to his knees, one placed on her mid-section to hold her, but not too hard, as he struggled to unwrap her other arm from her cloak. As he was unraveling the cloth from her left arm, he saw that the closer he got to the arm the more blood was on the fabric. Finally he had the cape off and she stopped fighting, but tears were flowing freely down her cheeks that were blushed from the cold and the panic.

He stared down at her.

"I…didn't want…..to believe. I…_prayed_ that I was wrong " Tears now spilling from his own eyes. He'd missed the signs. The odor of Death. The marks and how she seemed to heal quickly whenever she was injured. The restlessness at certain times. "But here is the irrefutable proof. The 'reason'…..I must do….what I have to."

Penelope felt her heart stop for a minute as her eyes widened in horror of the realization of what he meant. "N-no, Solomon…please. You…you don't now what you're saying. You don't…you can't mean it. Please…" she also began to cry. "Please I love you. I love the girls. I…I can control the beast. I…I _must_ be able to as I haven't attacked any of you yet!"

He closed his eyes. At first he didn't think he could go through with it. He had, after all, loved her without hesitation for the last 11 years. Ever since he had laid eyes on her. She was the mother to his children. But also….a monster that took lives. Took innocent lives of friends and their children. This he couldn't condone. And he couldn't pardon. In fact, her pathetic pleading for what she called life….was actually making his decision – and duty - easier. As he held her right arm down, and more weight was pressed by his knee onto her so she couldn't move or wiggle, he slowly drew his silver dagger from his belt. As he raised it over her, the dawn sunlight filtering into the barn and striking the blade, caused it to gleam, and he mumbled a prayer quietly, without any more hesitation, the dagger slammed into her heart.

Within moments she – and the beast – was dead.

**V - Promise**

Solomon, when he was sure she was gone, slowly rose like a man drained and walked out of the barn, heading into the house. He sat heavily down at the dining table, taking the "trophy" of the beast he had picked up in the alley and re-wrapped it gently, seeming to be even more careful than he should have been, then put his wife's hand, still wearing her wedding ring, into a box, locking the lid down.

As he set the box aside, he rubbed overly tired eyes and waited until he heard the girls moving around and then he stood and headed over to the ladder to wait for them to let them know that the werewolf had killed their mother. Now it was only the three of them.

He opened the family Bible and began reading. Genesis. When Eve betrayed Adam.

_For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil_

_And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat._

With a snarl, he slammed the Book closed, struggling to fight the tears once more. Just as Eve had convinced Adam to eat of the apple and they would be all-knowing, he had been believed that his wife was human.

Both of these were false.

So in his heart, his right hand on the Bible, he made a vow to God. He would go where he was needed and fight this evil. He would slay the demons of Hell, be they witches, warlocks, werewolves. They would all die. All for his children. The innocents. As he looked up at the loft when he heard the girls stir, a small smile crossed his lips.

One day he could hope that Isabel would follow her calling and his work. She was becoming sturdier as the days progressed. Stronger and able to even hold her own against many of the boys her age. Solomon didn't necessarily approve of this, but alone in his thoughts he could see her potential.

But for right now, he would protect them with his life.

He had promised.


End file.
